“I’ve been told.”
“Yarn bombs?” She really was a good cop. Smart. Determined.
“Bertie thinks the tourists will like it.”
“Okay. I’ll call Than and Aaron. If we need someone else, we can call them from the coffee shop.”
“Good.” I ended the call and then looked around. I didn’t realize I’d been walking while talking. I was almost to the lobby already. I hadn’t even said goodbye to Jame or Ben.
I rubbed at my forehead then pinched the bridge of my nose.
This had been a long day already and it hadn’t even begun.
An arm wrapped across my shoulders, warm, strong and heavy enough to make me feel grounded, centered in my own skin. Yes, I said I wanted space. Yes, I should be pushing him away and demanding that space. So he wouldn’t get hurt, so I wouldn’t get him killed.
But I couldn’t do it. Couldn’t even gather enough energy to try.
“I thought you were mad at me.”
“I am,” Ryder said easily. “It doesn’t mean I don’t love you. Anger and love are not mutually exclusive. Especially when someone is being a full-time disaster.”
“Part-time disaster at the most, thank you,” I said haughtily. I leaned into his heat, wishing I could feel him, really feel him, but thankful he was there just the same.
“You forget I’ve known you a long time.”
“What does that have to do with this?”
“You don’t do part-time anything. If you’re into something, you’re in it all the way.”
Well. I couldn’t really argue with that.
He gave me a smile, pleased with himself. “Come on. You know I’m right. And I’m driving.”
If he thought I was going to fight him on either point, he was wrong.
Chapter 15
“Stupid isn’t a strong enough word to encompass this conversation,” Aaron declared. “I thought you wanted me here to make sure you didn’t get yourselves killed. Was that the goal? Or did you just want me to take notes for your tombstones?”
I swear, every time he opened his mouth it was the verbal version of throwing a gauntlet.
Maybe inviting the god of war to our planning session wasn’t such a good idea.
“If you’d like to come up with a better plan, we’re right here waiting,” Ryder said through clenched teeth.
“I’m not here to plan.” Aaron leaned back in the secondhand office chair and adjusted his wire-rimmed glasses, his eyes sharp and happy. “I’m on vacation, remember? No war for this guy.”
I tried and failed to stifle a snort.
I was pretty sure Ryder was going to hit our local nursery owner in the face. After all, Ryder had recently proved he was wound up enough that he felt fists were a viable strategy for conflict resolution. So had I, come to think of it.
Rossi spoke up. Again. “He is coming for us. That we know. He knows Ben was taken right out from under his nose. He knows his lackeys were killed. He knows it is us.
“We choose our battlefield, here, inside Ordinary where we are stronger and he is weaker. We take the book to a void magic node, which might buy us enough time to use it to break the spell on Ben. Lavius will attack as soon as he senses the book is within his reach.”
“And when will it be within his reach?” I asked.
“As soon as I break the wards that mask it from him.”
